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The Alternate
' |image= |series= |production=40512-432 |producer(s)= |story=Jim Trombetta and Bill Dial |script=Bill Dial |director=David Carson |imdbref=tt0708591 |guests=James Sloyan as Dr. Mora Pol, Matt McKenzie as Dr. Weld Ram |previous_production=Rivals |next_production=Armageddon Game |episode=DS9 S02E12 |airdate=9 January 1994 |previous_release=Rivals |next_release=(DS9) Armageddon Game (Overall) The Pegasus |story_date(s)=47391.7 (2370) |previous_story=(DS9) Rivals (Overall) The Pegasus |next_story=(DS9) Armageddon Game (Overall) Homeward }} =Summary= Dr. Mora - the Bajoran scientist assigned to Odo after his discovery near the wormhole - comes to the station to ask for Odo's help. A Bajoran probe has detected a substance similar to Odo on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant. Mora wants Odo to ask Sisko for a runabout to investigate. Both Odo and Sisko agree. On the planet, Mora, Odo, Dax, and a Dr. Weld find a metamorphic substance. They also encounter a ground tremor that re- leases paralyzing volcanic gas. Seemingly unaffected by the gas, Odo beams everyone up to the runabout. That night on the station, however, something destroys the lab containing the substance, allowing it to escape. The substance soon dies, unable to live without a higher carbon dioxide count. Sixteen hours after the incident in the lab, a giant blob attacks Bashir in the infirmary. He manages to fend off the blob with a laser scalpel, but this time it leaves an organic trace behind. It is Odo. Somehow the volcanic gas has affected him, and every time he regenerates, a violent personality takes over. With Mora's help, Sisko and crew lure Odo onto the promenade during such an incident and trap him in a force field. Bashir then purges the volcanic gas from Odo's system. =Errors and Explanations= Plot Oversights # The episode piqued my interest in Federation archaeological policies concerning once-inhabited worlds. Dax, Odo, Mora, and Weld beam down to the remains of a village. A large stone monolith stands near the center of the ruins. Dax thinks it looks interesting, so she beams it back to the runabout. Obviously there isn't any law against doing this, but this type of pilfering must drive archaeologists nuts. Perhaps they plan to donate it to a museum once the investigation is over. Changed Premises # At the beginning of the episode one might make the case that Odo is using pretense as he talks with Quark about his interest in death rituals. The entire conversation seems to be a ruse to draw out the truth that the pieces of Piegg that Quark is selling aren't realIy Plegg because Plegg is still alive. Of course, Odo can't be using pretense because, according to Past Prologue, Odo never uses pretense. He may have decided to develop the skill to aid his work. # Evidently Nog really is back in school. In 'The Nagus," Rom pulled him out. Then in 'The Siege," Nog assures Jake that they'll soon be back together as they bid each other good- bye during the evacuation of the station. Now in this episode, Jake and Nog are studying for the same test. Keiko may have convinced Rom to allow Nog to continue his education. Nit Central # Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Thursday, July 27, 2000 - 2:34 am: Odo mentions Humanoid death rituals and considers Ferengi to be Humanoids, but are Ferengi really Humanoids or should they be considered Hominids? (Apes & gorillas are Hominids and they are more closely related to us than people from other planets. Even with the genetic tampering revealed in The Chase.) '' Joel Croteau (Jcroteau) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 9:55 pm:'' Humanoid does seem to be the common term for human-like sentients. # Dr. Mora mentions that Odo is still having trouble with ears. About a week or two before I nitpicked this episode, I read in a trivia column that said what we usually call ears aren't really ears. I forget the technical name, but it mentioned that ears are actually inside the head. Chris Thomas on Friday, July 28, 2000 - 12:35 am: You mention "what we usually call ears". Maybe Dr Mora is doing exactly the same thing, using the commonly accepted name, even if technically incorrect? # If planet LS6 is only 6 light years from the wormhole, then why hasn't anyone examined it before? Perhaps it is located ‘behind’ the mouth of the wormhole. # The justification for beaming the obelisk off the planet is that they may be able to translate the symbols. I only remember seeing a couple of symbols on the obelisk. Not enough to get a translation from. Also why not just run a tricorder over it instead? A tricorder scan may not provide as much detail as the scanning equipment on DS9. # John A. Lang on Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 7:39 pm: Why doesn't Dr. Mora wear a Bajoran earring? Thande on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - 7:22 am: That would explain why he swears "Dear God, what have I done!" instead of by the Prophets...he's a convert to some other religion! Seniram He could have chosen to forgo religion! # By D.K. Henderson on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - 8:26 am: After the alien life form escapes into the conduits, O'Brien goes tracking it. He bumps into an overhead watchamacallit and some goo (which looks a bit like Odo, actually) starts dripping down. O'Brien immediately announces that the thing is dead. That was rather presumptuous of him. Afterwards, Julian and Dax are examining the remains and discussing why it died. And yet...everyone still acts as though they think something is crawling around the conduits! Shouldn't they have thought that the danger was over? After Julian was attacked - in a scene straight out of those old monster movies - they knew for certain that "something" was up there, but I didn't hear anyone say anything to the effect of, "But how? The thing is dead!" Maybe they think there could be more than one hostile life form around. Category:Episodes Category:Deep Space Nine